Giant Tortoises Working to Maintain the Species

Day 4 (February 26th) in the Galapagos. Today we sailed to Urbina Cove on the island of Isabela. Isabela is the largest island in the Galapagos. It was formed by the fusion of 6 volcanoes which gave rise to its "seahorse" shape.

Isabela is one of the homes of the Giant Tortoise in the Galapagos. The only other place in the world with giant tortoises still left in the wild is the island of Aldabra in the Indian Ocean. It is estimated that there are 15,000 to 17,000 tortoises on Galapagos today---once there were likely over 200,000. Thousands were killed for food by sailors.

Tortoises reach sexual maturity between 20 and 25 years of age. Mating is a lengthly and noisy process. The female digs a nest into which she lays her eggs. Incubation takes 160-240 days. Interestingly, the sex of the offspring is determined by the temperature during the incubation period. Tortoises can live more than 200 years.